Top Talent Stays When They Are… Valued

It’s a well-worn cliché, the old ‘our people are our greatest asset’ line. A cliché because it’s true.

And with a massive 80% of a company’s value held off the balance sheet, in the hearts and minds of its staff, the challenge in retaining, inspiring and maximizing the value of that talent is more important than it’s ever been.

Human Capital

Says Chartered Management Institute chief executive Charles Tilley, “If you look today at the top 100 companies, you will find the balance sheet values of those companies is less than 20% of their overall value.

“That value now rests with the ability of people to deliver their services in the future.”

Which begs the question. If people are so crucial to an organisation’s success, what can we do to successfully retain them? And in retaining talent how can it be channelled most effectively. How can that talent be best nurtured?

The answer?

An attractive Employee Value Proposition (EVP) – the total value an employer offers to their employees in return for their work.

A good start might be alignment. Getting the most productive people in the most productive positions. Staff taking responsibility where they excel is good for everyone.

When McKinsey state, “Companies can more closely connect their talent and their opportunities to create value by using quantifiable measures to investigate their organizations’ nooks and crannies to find the most critical roles, whether they lie in design, manufacturing, HR, procurement, or any other discipline.” they’re saying three things.

It’s important to have measures in place that clearly identifies role/ability alignment.

It’s important to act upon that understanding quickly.

Happy people doing a job are productive people.

Says Search Solution, “The right person in the right position can transform the productivity of a department and raise the performance bar. Often times the shortcomings of a position are not realized until a truly talented individual steps into the role.”

It’s an opinion validated in a McKinsey survey of more than 600 respondents when they report that, “Fast talent reallocators were 2.2 times more likely to outperform their competitors on total returns to shareholders (TRS) that were slow talent reallocators according to a report.”

The EVP – A Suite of Value-Based Initiatives

What else, in addition to better aligning people to positions might businesses do to appreciate and retain talent?

A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work? In a ‘candidate driven’ market what might seems fair to you may not seem fair to a candidate or valued member of the team with half an eye on other opportunities. It’s important to keep your talent onside through an appreciated salary plus a range of rewards such as bonuses and promotions.

Benefits

There’s more to work than work. Benefits including paid time off, insurances, retirement plans, training and tuition all play a part.

Career

As lifelong learners, we’re all hungry to learn new skills to development and progress. Modern working life is a knowledge race. Training, education, and continual personal growth opportunities are key.

Work environment

Autonomy, personal achievement, recognition and job satisfaction all relate to the successful alignment we talked about above. All contribute to a positive work environment and a healthy work-life balance.

Company culture

It’s important that a culture exists in which a trusting and collaborative colleague, manager and C-Suite relationships can thrive. A positive and socially responsible company culture that aligns with your mission and goals.

The 64TEQ EVP

Did you know… superior talent is up to eight times more productive?

One final McKinsey reference, “A recent study of more than 600,000 researchers, entertainers, politicians, and athletes found that high performers are 400 percent more productive than average ones. Studies of businesses not only show similar results but also reveal that the gap rises with a job’s complexity. In highly complex occupations—the information- and interaction-intensive work of managers, software developers, and the like—high performers are an astounding 800 percent more productive.”